Hogwarts, Revisited
by Mesita
Summary: Join Mary Galvin as she enters Hogwarts and befriends Albus Potter and Lysander Scamander. Follow her as she experiences the ups and downs of school-life and proceeds to have an adventure of her very own.
1. The Hogwarts Express

Disclaimer: I do not, cannot, would not, should not own Harry Potter or any of its affiliates. The franchise belongs to the ever-lovely J.K.R.  
Note: As there is not much canon information on the second-generation characters, I have used my artistic license and have taken many liberties. I accept flames and non-constructive criticism of all sorts. In fact, I encourage it. This is a Mary-Sue self insert story I wrote as a joke and as an escape. It has graced this site for the sole purpose of experimentation and the hopeful attraction of crazy LiveJournal trolls to dissect and discredit the story. With that having been said, I bring you:

Hogwarts, Revisited

By: Kitzaku

Chapter One: The Hogwarts Express

Platform nine and three quarters had never looked so beautiful. The scarlet engine of the Hogwarts Express was busy chugging out steam into a world that was as invisible to the naked eye as air. I stood at the entrance, my cart filled with my belongings in front of me. It was hard for me to move, not only because I was filled with astonishment, nervousness and anticipation, but because there were so many students and families milling around me.

A small path opened up between a frail old man patting a small boy on the head and a stern looking woman with small, round spectacles giving another girl a lecture about proper behavior. I smiled at the two very different, but very similar families. Despite being rather embarrassed by their parents, both of the children had a sparkle in their eye for they, too, were on their way to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

I seized my opportunity and took this tiny opening and made my way over to an open door to one of the carts of the train. My trunk was heavy, but my heart was light and the difference made it far easier for me to pull my belongings on board than I had hoped. Coming to the Hogwarts Express by myself had been hard, but coming from a family of Muggles had made life quite difficult for me the day I had turned eleven years old.

I had never heard of witches or wizards or of this silly place called Hogwarts. My entire family, for as far back as I could trace, had all been Muggles. I received the owl in the middle of my eleventh birthday party. My mother had invited a few family members over for some cake and ice cream when the owl flew in the moment my Aunt opened the front door. It was rather odd, mostly because it was daytime, but also because any strange bird flying into a home was anything but normal.

The visitor did not stay long. It dropped an envelope into my lap and flew back toward the door where my Aunt had hastily left it open. The envelope was addressed to me and I quickly ripped it open, pretending not to hear my mother's cries of worry about the bird flu or anthrax.

If it hadn't been for the odd appearance of the owl, I could have sworn the entire thing was a joke. In fact, I'm sure my mother is still convinced it was all a hoax. I sent the response later that evening when another owl appeared, rapping at my window. The very idea or thought that I could be anything other than what I was, seemed to give me a kind of confidence I had never known before.

My sisters grew jealous of me, not because they believed the letter, but because they thought I had a secret admirer. The thoughts of young girls are seldom anything other than their own hobbies and who might like them, after all. I did not quite believe the owl myself, but I made constant reassurances to my sisters that I did not have a secret admirer, and, if I did, he would certainly not send me an owl or a fancy letter. Clearly, no boy my age would have the mental capacity or imagination to dream up such an idea.

The rest of summer progressed without event, until the week before the date on the letter proclaimed that school would begin. Another owl graced us with another letter, and this time, it was in the middle of dinner. My mother would joke that the phone would ring every time the family sat down to a meal, but now I'm sure they joke that an owl would arrive at precisely the same opportunity. This owl contained a letter with a list of school supplies and directions to a strange place called Diagon Alley.

That second letter really opened my eyes to all of the possibilities, and even my mother grew curious. She had not notified the authorities about the first owl, but remembering back, she would look at the phone a number of times that evening. This letter mentioned that Hogwarts was located in Scotland, but Diagon Alley was located in London, England. I remember my mother asking no one in particular why England was so special. These letters would have been more believable if I had to go buy my books at the Loop and then rush myself off to some private all girls academy. I, too, wondered why I was being sent to England. After all, if there were witches and wizards in America, why were there no schools in America? Or, if there were, why would I be accepted to Hogwarts and not to, say, the St. Louis School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?

The letter had described something of a Floo Network and it had connected fireplaces all over the world. The house in which we lived had a fireplace once, but it had long since been boarded up, even before I was born. What scared my mother the most, was that a small package of powder came with this second letter. The world had become quite a scary place, and packages of white powder delivered by owls had, until previously, not been on the top of my mother's worried list. I believe, at some point, she had decided that it was indeed nothing to worry about, mostly because we were all still alive. She did, however, throw the package of powder away, and I had lost all hopes of experimentation.

That was, until, two days before I was supposed to have left for this amazing school, my little sister knocked on my bedroom door once, and then let herself in. I had been reading and re-reading my letter while sitting on my bed, so I had mostly ignored her entrance.

"Mary," She said, getting my attention. I pried my eyes from the letter and they only widened more when I saw what it was that she had been holding: the package of powder.

"Where did you get that?" I asked, awestruck.

"Where else?" she grinned wide and sat down beside me. "I want to try this stuff out." She explained. My little sister, Susan, is one year younger than I. I believe she felt the most connected to me at that moment because she was only ten years old at the time, and felt that she had hope that the following year she, too, would receive an owl.

"We can't use the fireplace." I whispered back to her. Even though there was no chance our mother would hear, I did not want to take any risks, and our conversation continued in hushed voices.

"I was thinking maybe the stove." Susan smiled coyly. My darling little sister had always been a creative thinker, but she never let herself know this. My older sister, Gretchen, was very good with her hands, so she often let her creative ideas flow in the form of sewing projects and building small objects. Susan thought creatively and differently. She had different ideas for storylines when we played with dolls and she had wonderful pretend voices to go with each plotline. The two of us never ceased to amuse ourselves with the simplest of toys because of this creativity. It was not until that moment, that I began to see her for that wonderful mind.

And so, the two of us ventured into the kitchen and turned on the stove. I felt a tiny pang of anxiety because I had no idea what this powder could do to our stove. If it caught fire and made a horrible smell, my mother would catch us and we would never have heard the end of it.

As luck would have it, the wires in the stove grew hot and my little sister tossed the contents of the package into the stove. We both nearly fell over as the entire stove began to glow green. What was even stranger was that it gave off no heat, despite the temperature of the stove being set to 400 degrees. My little sister and I exchanged two and a half glances before she spoke. "What do we do, now?"

I had read the letter so many times that I responded instantly. "I have to speak the name of my location and step into the fire… or, oops, I guess in this case, the stove." It sounded feasible on the paper, but now that I was standing in front of a green stove, I had my doubts. The opening was far too small for me to step in to and I didn't want to step on the door in case it should break. I looked to my little sister with a scared look in my eyes.

To my surprise, my little sister simply nodded and said quietly, "Diagon Alley," and then she stuck her head directly into the oven—and disappeared.

I nearly cried out in alarm, but my hand covered my mouth first. Even looking back, I don't know how or why I found the courage to repeat the steps my little sister had, but I am glad I did. I hastily cried out Diagon Alley and shoved my head into the fireplace.

It is hard to recount the feeling of flying through the Floo network. Everything was in flashes of black and green, and I felt as though I were being shot out of the back end of a rocket. I remember being disappointed that I had forgotten my money tin, not realizing that my money was essentially useless.

I landed in what looked like an ordinary cobblestone road at first glance, but a few glances later told me that I most certainly was no longer in the states. People filled the streets, and they were all wearing robes of every assortment of colors. The shops were all closely held together and it reminded me of a scene directly out of a children's fairy tale book. There were signs hanging from over the shop doors, and the windows displayed every type of strangeness imaginable.

I had no time to take the sights in, of course; I was here to rescue my sister. I looked around to find her, and it did not take long. She was walking slowly up the street in front of me. I called her name and ran to catch up with her. She turned to me, slowly at first, and I remember her eyes looking as wide as they ever had in her entire life. In that moment, she told me what I had wanted to know since my birthday:

"It's all real."

I whispered those words again to myself as I boarded the Hogwarts Express. My little sister and I were no fools. We immediately began a search for someone who could help us. As it turned out, my letter held some sort of significance because it bore the special seal of Hogwarts.

I later learned that I was not alone. There were others like me who had come to Diagon Alley because of this strange summons. Most of the students were probably from England, based on their accents, but there were a few, like me, who came from other countries. The books and clothes that we were given were all charity. The clothes were too big for most of us, and the books were in serious need of re-binding, but I'm sure none of us minded much. We were all far too excited.

My little sister, I am sad to say, was sent back. She was not of age, and did not have a letter, and was escorted back to our house on Fawnhaven. She gave me a sad smile of farewell, and that was the last I would see her for some time. Looking back, now, I'm glad she was there with me for that brief moment. She made the transition easier, and I'm sure told our dear mother of my whereabouts and assured her of my safety. I also believe another wizard went back with her, to help explain.

I wished they could have come with me, however. I wished I could show them the beautiful scarlet engine, the excited children, the owls, the robes, the books, the wands—oh, the wands! They were such a wonderful addition. I had not thought that I would even need a wand. The thought caused me to place a hand in my pocket just to run my hands over the wood. My wand was nothing special. I had a holly wand with the core being a hippogriff talon. It was to my understanding that this wand was purely ordinary. There was some talk that the wand chooses the wizard, but I didn't take it seriously. I was no one special, so I got a third-rate wand. Of course, it did not matter to me at the time, and it does not matter to me, now. I appreciated everything that had happened to me, no matter how ordinary it may be to the wizarding world, it was extraordinary to me.

I had barely sat down in a compartment before there was a lurch and the Hogwarts Express began to move. I quickly took hold of the wall beside me and was happy to find that there was a handle for my convenience. In no time at all, I was staring out the window at the mothers and fathers, grandparents and relatives alike, waving to their loved ones as we were rushed off to school. I was then overcome with an entirely new feeling excitement. _It's all real._

My peace was soon disrupted when the door to my compartment opened and a boy nearly fell into the cabin. His hair was unkempt and disheveled and it was as dark as his school robes. There was another shape behind him, and I noticed a flash of red hair. The dark haired boy in front stopped falling before I could even think to get up and help. It seemed as thought he had been caught by the back of his school robes. When he had steadied himself, he collapsed onto the seat across from me. The red haired person behind him came into the compartment as well, with an apologetic look. She was female.

"Sorry about that, Al has suddenly developed motion sickness." The redheaded girl smiled brightly at me. I waved off the intrusion and looked over at the boy she had called Al. His eyes were closed and he was breathing forcedly, as if he were trying to keep his breathing even. She must have noticed the concern in my expression, because she clarified. "He'll be alright, now that he's sitting down… oh! I'm Rose. Rose Weasley." She extended her hand to mine, and I shook it, thought it was a bit awkward as we were sitting next to each other.

"Mary Galvin." I said quietly, trying to hide my nervousness. Indeed, I felt the same way as the other boy at that moment, only it was much easier to control my breathing, but my heart still wanted to beat its way out of my chest.

"This is our first year." Rose explained. She didn't seem to be nervous at all, or if she was, she was doing a wonderful job of hiding it. "Al's brother has been telling him all sorts of stories, so now he's worried."

"Stories?" I asked. I had only skimmed my textbooks the night before. I hadn't had much time to research the history of the school or what exactly I was getting myself into.

"Well, like, he doesn't want to be sorted into Slytherin, you know?" Rose stated matter-of-factly.

I looked at her, dumbfounded. I had never heard of this Slytherin place and if someone like Al didn't want to go there, then I certainly did not! "Is Slytherin bad?" I asked.

"Not really, I guess." Rose shrugged. "Loads of witches and wizards are sorted into Slytherin, but all the Dark Lords and bad wizards were all Slytherins, so they must be doing something wrong."

If being a Slytherin meant becoming evil, then I didn't want to have any part of it, either! I looked over to Al, who was slowly coming out of his shell. He even opened his eyes, and I couldn't help but notice their bright shade of green. I felt compelled to reassure him. "You don't look like someone evil." I said directly to him.

He smiled shyly and tried to sink lower into the seat and he mumbled something that sounded somewhat like a thank you.

"Oh, Albus." Rose said, crossly. "You're never going to make friends if you're that shy." For a moment I thought she was talking to someone else, but I then realized that Albus must be Al's real name. "Introduce yourself properly to Mary."

Albus looked mortified, but he pulled himself from the seat cushions and extended a shaking hand to me. "A-Albus Potter." I shook his hand and tried not to grimace from how cold and clammy it felt. His shyness and anxiety seemed to make me feel better. He was clearly from England by his accent, and the same went for Rose. They were both well-versed in the world of magic, and I found myself rather happy to have such nice people to share a compartment. I could learn a lot from them.

"It's nice to meet you." I said softly.

Rose perked up again. "Your accent—are you from America, by chance?"

I nodded, a bit hesitantly. I never know how well Americans are received in most places. We did, after all, have a policy where we considered ourselves the world's police. "I came from Missouri, but I'm afraid I don't know very much about magic or wizards or Hogwarts…" I trailed off. At the time, I could not remember what word the wizarding world used for people like my family, but Albus reminded me very quickly.

"You're Muggle-born?" he nearly squeaked.

"Y-yeah… I think. Muggles are non-magic people, right?" I asked rather stupidly, but at the same time, was very inquisitive.

"They are." Rose nodded. "My mum is Muggle-born, and Al's grandmother was, too." I smiled, relieved that they had some idea about where I was coming from.

"I… I'm a first year, too." I explained. I told the two of them about my family and how I found out about my powers. I had never demonstrated any sort of magical talent when I was younger. I used to joke that I had the power to change my hair color when it was wet, but that did not make me a witch. I finally confided in the two of them something that had been gnawing at the back of my mind. "Sometimes, I wonder if they made a mistake."

My insecurity had the same effect on Albus that his shyness had on me. He slowly pulled himself out of his shell. "I don't think they would make a mistake. My dad told me that he got loads of owls telling him he was a wizard, and he had never heard of magic, either." He grinned a little to himself, his eyes silently sparkling. I could tell he had a very special bond with his father.

"Well that's because Uncle Harry is _famous_." Rose said, proud. "I read it in the history books. He defeated The Dark Lord Voldemort… twice!"

"He killed a guy before he came to Hogwarts?" I asked suddenly, astonished that an eleven year old could do much damage.

"Oh, no no no. He was just a baby and a spell backfired." Rose clarified. "He doesn't talk about it much. But when he was older, he and my parents fought Voldemort and killed him. It's all in the new edition of _Hogwarts, a History_. Here, I've got mine with me." She rummaged through her trunk and extrapolated a large, leather-bound book with gold writing on the cover. It looked new, but the binding was well worn. She had a section bookmarked and opened to it immediately. "See, right here." She shoved the book toward me and I could only skim the page, but I saw the names Potter and Weasley and Voldemort.

I looked at the two of them, astonished. I had never heard of any of these people before, but in the magic world, they were probably famous, or, at least their parents were. My parents were divorced and my mother worked for an insurance company. They were far from famous. I suddenly felt very privileged to be talking to such prominent people. "Wow…"

Albus was probably not used to the attention because he turned a bright shade of red that matched Rose's hair. "My dad is just dad to me." He mumbled softly.

Rose was mostly startled that someone had not heard of her parents, but at the same time, looked pleased. She explained a bit more about the history of her parents and the school and I grew to appreciate her intelligence more and more. As the train bounded across the hills and valleys, I was learning more in those few short hours than I ever had in my entire life.

Rose explained to me that Hogwarts was divided into four houses: Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. All first years were to be sorted into one of these houses before the Start of Term Feast. After she had explained a great deal about the process, I was beginning to feel less nervous and more excited. "I hope we're all sorted into the same house!" I was at the edge of my seat, now, and had changed into my school robes. "What house do you guys want to be in?"

"Gryffindor." The answer came almost automatically and it was simultaneous between the two of them.

I blinked a few times, as that was a very quick response. "Why?"

"Our entire family was in Gryffindor… and all but one of our cousins so far have been in Gryffindor." Rose explained. I almost asked why she mentioned both her cousins and Albus' cousins when I realized they must be related somehow. Before I could ask, the door to the compartment opened and a nice old lady was smiling down at us.

"Would you like anything from the cart?" She asked. I looked at the cart she was pushing down the aisles and my eyes almost fell directly from their sockets. Sweets and treats of all shapes and sizes littered the cart. I couldn't even begin to list what types there were, because I had no idea. Rose and Albus seemed to know because they each bought a few different things, but I merely shook my head. I still didn't have any Wizard money.

"What's that?" I asked Albus. He was opening a tiny green box.

"Oh, these are Chocolate Frogs." He said, holding it up so that I could see. "There's these famous witch and wizard cards in them. I like to collect the cards, especially because…" he trailed off and shook his head. "You can have it." He pushed the box toward me.

"Oh, I couldn't. You bought it with your own money!" I protested. I felt horrible because I had barely known these two and had already received a wonderful present of conversation.

"Well…" Albus was turning a shade of pink. "I was hoping we could be friends, you know, because Rosie and I have only got each other… and… and my dad met his best friend on the Hogwarts Express their very first day." He smiled a little, trying to hide it.

I returned the smile, and looked down at my Chocolate Frog. I was still too nervous and excited about Hogwarts to eat anything, so I stowed it away for later. "Thank you very much. I would very much like to be friends to the both of you."

Rose smiled, too… but then she handed me something. It was a small, yellow bean. I looked at her inquisitively and her smile only widened. "They're Bertie Botts' Every Flavored Beans. Try it." Hesitantly, I placed the bean in my mouth and my eyes widened.

"Lemonade!" I cried out, astonished. "Are they really every flavor?"

"Yeah…." Albus said, and then grimaced. "I once ate one that tasted like old socks."

Rose giggled, "I remember. You ran downstairs in tears and Aunt Ginny had to wash your mouth with butterbeer just to get the taste out."

"Are you two cousins?" The question finally came out before I could stop it.

Rose and Albus looked at each other and then at me and Rose spoke, "We are. My mum and his dad are siblings." Rose pulled her hand out and began to count her fingers. "You see, I have six Uncles total, well, five. My Uncle Fred died in the Second Wizarding War at the Battle of Hogwarts and my only blood-Aunt is Al's mum. All of my cousins except for my brother, Al's little sister and my cousin Louis are at Hogwarts. Let's see…. Tell me if I forgot anyone, Al." Rose began. "There's Victoire; she's the oldest and a seventh year. She's a prefect. Her little sister, Dominique is a third year. And then there's Uncle Percy's daughters, my cousins Molly and Lucy, They're in their fifth and third year. And then there's My Uncle George's kids; he's got Fred who's a second year along with Albus' older brother James and then Roxanne is a first year, like us!"

I stared at Rose for a long time. She lost me somewhere around Uncle Percy. My jaw must have gone slack because Albus finally spoke up. "Don't worry, it's a lot to take in at once."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "You said there was another first year, which one was that?"

"Oh, that's Roxanne." Rose stated, and then, as if she had just forgotten something, she stood up. "We should probably go and find her and make sure she found everything okay!"

Albus reached a hand up and pulled down his talkative cousin. "She's probably with her brother."

Rose looked relieved for a moment, but then her face grew white and she panicked again, standing up once more. "All the more reason to look for her! Fred and James probably have her tied up and locked in a trunk somewhere!"

"Would they _do_ that?" I asked, curious.

Rose paused and thought a moment, which caused her to sit back down. "No, not really." She sighed heavily and looked beyond me and out the window, popping another Every Flavored Bean into her mouth. The landscape was thinning and Hogwarts was looming in the distance. Her eyes grew wide, and she didn't need to explain it to Albus nor myself, for we already knew: Hogwarts was near.


	2. The Sorting

Disclaimer: I do not, cannot, would not, should not own Harry Potter or any of its affiliates. The franchise belongs to the ever-lovely J.K.R.

Hogwarts, Revisited

By: Kitzaku

Chapter Two: The Sorting

When the Hogwarts Express finally came to a halt, the corridors were crammed with students and trunks and various pets. Students were calling out for their friends and laughing merrily. Clearly, the Wizarding world was a small place for it seemed as though everyone knew each other. I knew, of course, that that was because I felt as thought I knew absolutely no one. In fact, there were several other First Years who looked just as lost and scared as I felt.

We were ushered out the doors and told that our luggage would be carried on up to the castle and would wait for us to be sorted into our proper houses. Many of the First Years looked frightened, myself, Rose and Albus included, but when the older students freely left their luggage behind to board horseless carriages the three of us gave up our anxiety and left out belongings at the station.

Suddenly, a booming voice was heard over all of the calamity of students. "Firs' Years! Firs' Years, this way, please!" I looked up to see a giant of a man towering over everyone else. He was old, but looked no worse for wear. There were flecks of gray in his beard, but his eyes looked as though they would be laughing forever.

"Hagrid!" Both Rose and Albus exclaimed together. They immediately made their way toward the large man. Rose turned around for a moment to usher me along with them, for I had held back, unsure of how to proceed. She made a small _Come on,_ with her mouth and I couldn't help but to follow.

The massive man, whom I could only guess was Hagrid, turned to the source of the voices and appeared to recognize the two of them immediately, because he let out a huge grin. "Why, it's Al an' Rosie! How're yer parents?"

"They're all fine." Rose said, beaming up at the big man. "They send their love, you know."

"Well that don't sound like yer dad." Hagrid's brow furrowed. "Yer mum, maybe." Rose only giggled, sharing some kind of inside joke with the big man. He turned his attention to Albus and ruffled the shy boy's already disheveled hair. "Yer really lookin' like yer ol' dad!" Albus had looked embarrassed when Hagrid had ruffled his hair, but now he was positively radiant. "Who's yer friend?" His tiny black eyes now focused on me and I felt four times smaller than I really was.

"This is Mary." Albus stepped aside so that I was able to shake Hagrid's monstrous hand. "She's from Misery."

"Well that don't sound like a right good place ter live!" Hagrid exclaimed.

I laughed a little. "He means Missouri. I'm from the states." I explained. "It's very nice to meet you, Hagrid."

"You keep an eye our fer these two." He said to me as he pointed to both Rose and Albus. "I had a bloody 'ard time keepin' their parents in order."

I reassured him that I would, even though I had had no idea what he was talking about. He then made sure to round up the rest of the first years and we followed him out to a vast, dark lake. There, waiting for us, were small boats with lamps on them. After making sure that they would, indeed, be seaworthy, Hagrid convinced the lot of us to board the boats.

Rose, Albus and I scrambled together, to make sure we would ride in a boat together. Each boat, however, held five people. Rose had momentarily given the boats a quizzical look and mentioned something about the boats only being able to hold four people, but this was ignored by most everyone around her. Two blonde boys entered the boat with us. They looked almost identical, except that one parted his hair on the right and the other parted his hair on the left. It was a bit comical the way they did that, for it was a very common way to tell twins apart.

"Hi." The one with the part on the right said to us. "Do you remember us at all?"

Albus shook his head, but Rose stared at the twins closely. "Were you at Teddy Lupin's graduation party?"

"Yup!" The left part said. "Our mum was in charge of decorations."

Albus face went pale. His skin was already fairly white against his dark hair, and the effect of the lanterns only make things worse, but in that moment, he looked ghastly. "You're the Scamanders, aren't you?"

They nodded. "I'm Lorcan." The one with the right part said.

"And I'm Lysander." The left part continued.

They had a sort of wispy and dreamy voice, but to me they didn't seem like such bad folk. Once again, I felt sort of left out because both Rose and Al knew even these twins! Albus only nodded and accepted their existence, but Rose was eager to strike up more conversation and test her knowledge.

"I heard you two went to Norway this summer to help Uncle Charlie look for a rare type of dragon." Rose asked in an excited voice. "Is it true?"

"Well, yes…" Lorcan started.

Lysander finished. "And no."

"You see we went to Norway," Lorcan fiddled with his school robes. "But we didn't get to help Charlie with anything. Mum made us stay in the hotel while she and dad went gallivanting across the country. We got stuck with a babysitter."

"She was a boring old coot that only wanted to watch Muggle television." Lysander grimaced. "But we did get to see some of the things mum and dad brought home! Look!" He pulled out a chain that had been hanging around his neck. A very pretty disc-like stone hung at the end of it. "It's a dragon scale. Mum says they mean good luck. Lorcan has one, too." Lorcan pulled out his dragon scale as well, they seemed rather proud.

Albus peered over at the two of them with mild curiosity. Even the dragon scales had pulled him out of whatever shell he had hidden back in to.

The twins put the scales away because we were nearing the other shore of the great lake. Hogwarts gleamed in the distance, looking quite magnificent. I stared at it for a long time and it wasn't until the boat hit the shore, did my thoughts come back to reality. I hadn't realized that I had drifted off in thought. Hagrid began to round us up once more and we made the trek up toward the castle.

Rose, Lorcan and Lysander were having a heated debate about the existence of Nargles, something I had no idea existed, but I was on the side of Lysander, mostly because up until recently, I hadn't even believed in magic or schools in the English countryside. Lysander gave me a firm pat on the back and a "Good show!" when I proclaimed my side. I felt it strange that his brother held the same views as Rose. The three of them continued their argument as they followed Hagrid and the others. I fell back, looking for Albus. He had been awfully quiet during the boat ride.

I found him standing not too far away next to a large white marble coffin that overlooked the great lake. He didn't look sad or happy or curious, but instead he looked a little perplexed and inquisitive. As I came closer, I saw that he was reading the inscription. "Hey, Al? We don't want to be left behind." I called to him softly, hoping that he would hear me.

His head twitched a little bit and he made a small movement, beckoning me to come join him. "Mary, I want you to meet someone."

Confused, I stood beside Albus and followed his gaze to the monument. Graves always gave me the creeps because they always felt so cold and so sad. It didn't take me long to figure out just what it was that Albus was looking at, for there on the tombstone was engraved:

_Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore_

I looked from the inscription on the tomb and back to Albus' face. His green eyes were clouded. "My father…" he explained, "He said I was named after two Hogwarts Headmasters."

"Wow…" I said, looking back at the name. "He must have been a very important Headmaster, to have been buried here on the grounds." I know now that it was such a dumb thing to say, but at eleven years old it sounded like a most wonderful idea.

"He was." Albus said with a slight smile. "I don't know how I know, but I just know. Rosie could probably tell you. She knows all of that ancient stuff."

"Rose is really smart." I said, pointing out the obvious. Albus only nodded and looked back toward Hogwarts. I knew then, that we needed to catch up with the others and hurry. Without another word, the two of us ran as fast as we could and was able to catch up with the group.

We stopped running when I nearly ran right into Rose. She whipped around and pointed at the two of us. "There you are! I was worried that you two had fallen into the lake or something! I had to cover for you!"

"Sorry." I said, "We were just-"

"I dropped something." Albus interrupted me. "Mary was helping me find it." I looked at him, bewildered. Why wouldn't he want to tell Rose about the tomb? It had obviously meant a lot to him. I fell silent, but I was glad he had chosen to share the moment with me. Maybe he really was trying to make friends outside of his large family.

Rose's gaze lingered on us for a moment longer, but she decided not to say anything and the three of us followed Hagrid, the twins, and the other First Years into the castle.

Almost immediately, an echoing laughter rang off the walls and I heard Hagrid groan. A smiling figure appeared above our heads, spinning around. "Oh lookie, lookie! Ickle Firsties!" He cried, his laughter still ringing in my ears. He pulled a girl's pig tails and knocked the hat off another boy.

"Git outta here, Peeves." Hagrid grumbled. "Or I'll call the Baron."

Peeve's only snickered. "You wouldn't do that. He listens to no one."

"No one but the Headmaster himself." Hagrid pointed out, his beady eyes narrowing. Peeve's faltered a moment and then rolled his eyes.

"These ickly firsties don't look fun anyway." He pouted, soaring up into the ceiling and disappearing.

I let out a breath, not even realizing that I had been holding it. At first I had thought there were some kind of amazing holograms going on to welcome us to Hogwarts, but when that Peeves figure was actually able to _touch_ the other students! I turned to Rose to inquire, but she was already explaining it to me.

"He's a poltergeist, and a very mischievous one at that."

"I see." I was still staring into the space where Peeves had just left. It was so strange to see a real poltergeist! Until that moment, I had only expressed a mild interest in the supernatural. My father had dated a psychic for some time and she divulged a great deal of hidden powers to me. She explained that by using my energy alone, I could move marbles across a table and from there move on to larger objects. I alone could achieve this feat and left my sisters in the dust. I hadn't thought much about it at the time, but my father could have dated a real witch, and she had seen my potential from the outright. I sighed inwardly, wanting to thank her now more than ever.

"All righ', come on now, firs' years." Hagrid said, now working to regroup our anxious bunch. "Time ter get ter the Great Hall." And at that moment, Hagrid's massive arms pushed open the heavy doors in front of him and the Great Hall stood before us in all its glory.

The other students were sitting along four long tables and each table was illuminated by floating candles. Four banners spanned the tables, signifying the four houses. There was a red banner with a lion indicating Gryffindor, the house both Albus and Rose had hoped to be in. I scanned the table, looking for a mass of redheads, but I was rather naïve. There were children with red hair scattered all throughout the table. I should have known, though. Just because all of the Weasleys were cousins, did not mean they would want to group together. I did take note of a boy a bit taller than Albus with the same messy dark hair. He was hunched over the table talking with another boy with much darker skin and oddly light-colored hair. I could only guess that that was Albus' older brother, James, but I had no idea with whom he was talking.

I scanned the other tables, as well. One was adorned with yellow and black with some particularly cheerful students. Another table had blue and bronze decorations and nearly every wizard looked more mature and wise than the others. Lysander appeared at my side, probably having finished his argument with his brother and Rose. "Wit beyond measure it's man's greatest treasure."

I turned to look at Lysander incredulously. "What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I had found out from the boat trip that both Lysander and his cousin were a little less than normal, but the both of them appeared to be decent folk.

"My mother was in Ravenclaw." Lysander explained. I took great note in the emphasis he placed in _my_, as if he were trying hard to make himself a separate individual from his brother. It is my understanding that many twins try to retain their individuality, while still many other twins prefer to be two sides of the same person.

"Ah, I see." I nodded slowly. My gaze then shifted to the last table, which I could only identify as Slytherin. It was not hard to spot, mostly because outside of the silver and green and covered every ounce of the table, everything appeared to be decorated with snakes and each of the students looked as though they wanted to sneer after everything they said. A sudden chill overcame me. I certainly did not want to be in Slytherin.

There was a rapping at the front of the Great Hall and the clamor soon came to a halt. A young, spritely man who looked as though he had just walked out of a historic painting was standing at a podium in front of everyone. His hair was long and pulled back into a ponytail at his neck, but it was curled slightly and he wore a jabot—something I had seen only in old textbooks of the Revolutionary War in my country.

"Good evening, Hogwarts Students!" He called out, smiling. The smile only made him appear younger. "I am Professor Thomas, your new Hogwarts Headmaster. I am sure you all miss Professor McGonagall greatly, but I can assure you, my appointment was made in the best interest of the students. I believe we also have some change of staff this year. I would like all of you to meet Professor Elworth, your new Transfiguration professor." A well-groomed wizard with black hair that had been slicked back stood up and nodded curtly. He had bushy black eyebrows, but held a stern and narrowed face. He had a scar on the side of his right eyebrow as if it had been pierced at one time in his youth, but he looked well on in his years. The students all clapped politely and he sat down, just as quickly as he had stood.

"First," Professor Thomas began, "I will state some necessary precautions. Students are not to prowl the corridors at night, the Forbidden Forest is off-limits unless for specific school-related purposes and our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has asked that the ban on all products from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes to continue." He paused a moment and looked in the air briefly as if he were trying to remember what to say next. He must have given up, for after a shrug, he changed the subject. "Our second act of business is to begin the Sorting!"

An old, ratty and tattered hat was brought into the room and many of the first years began to chatter excitedly. I did not. Instead, I felt as though my stomach were trying to tie itself into a knot. I swallowed hard and nearly fainted when the hat opened it's mouth—I didn't know hat's _had_ mouths—and began to sing its song.

During the middle of the piece, I leaned over to Lysander, who was trying to sing along merrily. How he knew the words to this song, I would probably never know. "How does that hat talk?" I asked.

Lysander looked at me quite seriously as if to tell me, _you don't know_? I gave him a sheepish sort of look in response and Lysander merely shrugged. I decided to categorize the miracle off as magic. After all, the same presence that could make the entire ceiling of the Great Hall look like the sky and to have thousands of candles floating in the air could most likely make an old pointed hat talk.

"Ambrose, Abigail!"

I jumped, not realizing that our names were going to be called. A very pretty girl with dark skin and braids in her hair took nervous steps toward the Sorting Hat. Another wizard was standing next to the stool with the hat. He lifted the hat off the stool, helped Abigail onto the stool and placed the hat on her head.

It felt like ages before the hat finally called out, "HUFFLEPUFF!" And Abigail, smiling, skipped to the cheering yellow table where she was met with many pats on the back and handshakes.

"Beem, Klaus!"

A boy, shorter than the other first years, scrambled up to the Sorting Hat. His hair was slightly taller than the rest of him, for it added two more inches to his height. Once more, the older wizard took the Sorting Hat and placed it on the boy's head. After a brief moment, the called out, "GRYFFINDOR" and Klaus ran to be greeted by his new house.

As the names progressed, I leaned over to Lysander again, "Who is that wizard with the Sorting Hat?" I asked. I could have easily asked Rose to explain, because I knew she would have all the answers, but Rose was currently missing—I assumed she was lecturing on Albus on the proper way of keeping up with the others, but when I glanced around, Albus was only standing a few feet away from me, wringing his hands nervously and sweating bullets.

"Him?" Lysander pointed to the kindly wizard with dusted brown hair. He had a gentle nature about him, which was probably why he had been chosen to help the first years with the Sorting. The best word to describe him would have been: harmless. "That's Professor Murphy. He teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts and is the Deputy Headmaster of the school. He's been around for ages. My mum had him for Dark Arts in her seventh year. I think she might have fancied him, the way she goes on about him, but I think mother may have fancied everyone who spoke to her." He had a dry smile, but seemed amused at his mother's antics.

I found it strange how close the wizarding world was. I barely knew another about my mother when she was younger—much less the name of her Gym—er, Defense Against the Something-or-other teacher. Everyone's parents here seemed to be war heroes. Speaking as someone who came from the Muggle world—and what's more, a completely different continent, I felt strangely out of place.

"Galvin, Mary!"

If I hadn't snapped out of my ponderings in time, I would have done so anyway thanks to the prod I received from both Lysander and, surprisingly enough, Albus. It seemed he had been paying discrete attention to the proceedings, as I should have been.

My heart beat loudly in my chest as I made my way toward the stool, the Sorting Hat, and the smiling Professor Murphy. With shaking knees, I attempted to hoist myself onto the stool, but regrettably failed. However, a strong hand guided me onto the stool and placed the hat over my head.

_Ah, Galvin, a surname I have not been acclimated with. It's nice to meet you._

I nearly jumped. Who was talking to me?

_I am_.

Who?

_The Sorting Hat_.

Ah. I settled down. All of this crazy magic at once was going to wear me out and fast. I felt a whirring in my head as if all of my thoughts were being penetrated—a feeling I had no idea I could decipher at the time. I wanted to have a conversation with the voice in my head, but the thought of even thinking that made me laugh inwardly to myself. How could I be talking to a hat—much less a hat that had a very nice singing voice?

_Thank you._

You're welcome.

_You're brave, yes, but not in a conventional way. Taking risks is not the same as bravery. However, I see an extreme potential in you. You are most clever and a true problem-solver, but these qualities have unfortunately been repressed. I know just the house that will help bring your talents to the surface._ RAVENCLAW!

I stared, dumbfounded as the Sorting Hat was lifted off my head and I saw the Great Hall before me. I nearly froze, but somehow my legs told me to get off the stool and walk toward the blue and silver table. I felt a sense of pride. From what Rose told me, Ravenclaws were known for being intelligent… and the twins' mother had been in Ravenclaw. I was suddenly not at all disappointed to be somewhere other than Gryffindor.

I sat down at the Ravenclaw table where I received many handshakes and smiles. I couldn't help smiling, myself. I never realized what a big deal it was to be accepted into a particular house. I sat down and made myself comfortable, wanting to take in all of the details of the Great Hall and those around me.

More names were called and the group of first years was steadily growing smaller.

"Malfoy, Scorpius!"

There was a pregnant pause and I looked to the group of first years. The twins, Rose and Albus were still there amongst others. Rose was talking adamantly with another blonde boy and then suddenly prodded him in the side, causing the boy to look up in disgust and embarrassment. He appeared to whisper something harshly to Rose and began his trek up to the Sorting Hat.

No sooner had the hat touched his head, it shouted, "SLYTHERIN!" Scorpius Malfoy grinned widely and soon joined the other Slytherins. I began to wonder just what it was that had gotten Rose so riled up about this Scorpius Malfoy character, but I decided that it may not have been worth it to ponder so harshly. I proceeded to pay attention to the proceedings. Several of the first years even began to sit at the Ravenclaw table with me.

"Scamander, Lorcan!"

I tried not to squeak as I watched Lorcan make his way up to the hat. I had grown fond of the twins in the brief moment I had been with them, just as I had grown fond of Rose and Albus. Right away, it seemed, that Lorcan was sitting next to me, followed soon after by his twin brother, Lysander. I beamed with delight at the two of them. "So glad you could make it!" I said.

Lorcan shrugged. "Always knew we'd be in this house. Gryffindor is overrated."

Lysander laughed and only agreed. I smiled at the two of them even wider. I couldn't believe that I would have friends in the same house with me. "We'll make sure everyone else knows that, too, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Potter, Albus!"

My banter with the twins stopped as we all looked to see which house Albus would be sorted into. I knew his worry about Gryffindor and Slytherin, and I hoped he would get his wish of Gryffindor, but I secretly felt he should be in Ravenclaw with me. He was the first friend I had made here, and I wanted to be able to at least be in the same house with him.

The hat was on Albus for a while, and his face seemed to be crunched up in concentration. He was gripping the stool he sat on so hard that his knuckles were white. After a great deal of time, the hat finally yelled out, "GRYFFINDOR!"

The hall exploded with applause and the Gryffindors nearly fell over themselves in cheering and wanting to great Albus. He looked rather confused in all of the proceedings and finally the boy I assumed was his brother made everyone back off as he ruffled his younger brother's hair. I smiled inwardly, glad that Albus had gotten his wish, and a little sad that I wasn't there to congratulate him. When he was finally able to sit down, Albus looked around the hall and caught my eye and waved. He didn't look so nervous anymore, and that made me feel loads better. I waved back.

"Weasley, Rose!"

I turned back to the last two first year's standing. They both had red hair, but while one was Rose, the other had a much darker skin tone and her hair was in red dreadlocks. I raised an eyebrow, as I was not used to the combination, but she looked awfully cute.

Rose sat down on the stool and, just before the hat went on her head, she glanced quickly at the Slytherin table and moments later—"GRYFFINDOR!" She almost floated with happiness over to the Gryffindor table where she was met by a clingy Albus.

"Weasley, Roxanne!"

The last girl with the dreadlocks gave a sigh of relief and skipped up to the Sorting Hat, almost snatching it from Professor Murphy's hands and placing it onto her own head, only to tell her that she was going to be in Gryffindor. I scanned my brain as to where I had heard that name before, and I remembered—this was another of the Weasley cousins! Her older brother was Fred—and that would explain the dark-complexion of the boy Albus' brother was with. She appeared to be just as much of a trouble-maker as her brother, which was probably why Rose and Albus didn't seem too worried that she would be in any danger from Fred and James.

It appeared as though that were the end of the Sorting. And, if that were not a grand enough clue, Professor Thomas stood up, tapped his want on the podium and merely stated, "Let us feast!"

The most wonderful feast I had ever seen in my entire life was presented on the table before me. I turned to Lysander, who had already reached out for a spoonful of pudding. "What is all of this? I haven't seen most of it!"

"Oh, um…" Lysander scooped the pudding he had probably intended for himself onto my plate, instead. "This is my favorite pudding in the world, you should try it. And those are pumpkin pasties, dragon steak, pilfering potatoes…" He went on for a while, motioning to everything within reach. I gave up after a while and simply helped myself to a little of each.

"So, what do you think of Hogwarts so far?" A kind, dulcet-like voice asked from behind me. I looked up with a mouthful of pudding and saw red hair, freckles and glasses and immediately had one thought: Weasley.

"Mmm." I finished my bite of pudding and wiped my mouth on a napkin. "It's all very wonderful, but it's a bit much to take in. Thank you." I offered a shy smile, a bit intimidated by how tall she was.

"That's good to hear," the older Weasley said, and turned to the twins. "How are you two? I haven't seen you since Teddy's graduation party."

"Could have been better, Molly." Lorcan shrugged, trying to cut up a piece of steak with no luck. "But things are okay, now that I'm safely in Ravenclaw and no where near Hufflepuff."

Molly frowned. "No one house is better than the other. If anything, it's merely a sorting of personality traits."

"Personality traits or not, Slytherins grow up to be dark and sinister, Gryffindors grow up to beat up Slytherins and Hufflepuffs are always casualties. Ravenclaws have always been the sensible ones." Lorcan finally succeeded in scoring himself a piece of dragon meat and shoved it in his mouth.

Lysander sighed. "I'm just glad to be in the same house as my mum." Lorcan rolled his eyes at his brother, but I simply gave Lysander a pat on the back.

"I'm glad to be in the same house as my friends." I said. Lysander smiled at me.

Molly Weasley went on to greet the other first years and as I ate my dinner, I asked the twins all sorts of questions. I learned that Molly was a prefect and the only Weasley not to be in Gryffindor, which she took pride in, despite keeping the appearance that houses didn't mean anything.

I turned my attention to the table at the front of the Great Hall that was filled with professors. "There sure are a lot of professors here." I state quite obviously.

Molly must have been walking back to her seat because she paused behind me and said, "Oh, yes, you'll probably be wanting to know some of their names." She smiled and kneeled down to my eye level and pointed. "I'll only introduce you to the professors whom you will have this year. First, there is Professor Elworth, the new Transfiguration Professor, and that wizard he is speaking to is Professor Murphy, the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor." I had already been introduced to these two professors, but it was very nice to get a formal clarification from a prefect. I nodded, watching the two older men speak in very animated tones. Professor Elworth had seemed stiff during his introduction, but while talking to Professor Murphy, the stiffness had dissipated. "And over here we have Professor Longbottom for Herbology, Professor Binns for History of Magic, Professor Flitwick for Charms and Professor Slughorn for Potions." She pointed to each Professor in turn and I had a hard time trying to remember such odd names. It helped, however, that they all differed greatly in appearance and—wasn't that a ghost? I did a double-take to stare at Professor Binns who appeared to be asleep. He was most certainly a ghost. Did ghosts sleep? Hogwarts was indeed a strange place.

I took note of Hagrid sitting amongst the teachers, trying not to break his end of the table with his massive hand. "What does Hagrid teach?"

"Professor Hagrid, Mary." Molly warned me. "He is the Care of Magical Creatures professor, but you won't be able to take that until your third year."

I nodded, looking at all the other teachers I did not know, but knew that within the course of the year, I would undoubtedly find out. I turned back to my feast, my mind swimming with magic.


End file.
